RV Living: Winter Camping in Winter Weather

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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
When you think of RV living in the Winter
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
dont you picture the snowbirds who travel South
in the Winter for mild weather RV living?
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Well, thats not us we do things a bit
differently from the norm just ask our family!
Our fulltime RV living choice found us on the
banks of the Missouri River where we currently
work as camphosts at a private campground and are
getting ready to spend our third year of Winter
camping in Missouri where the weather can be
balmy one day and brutal the next.
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Lots of people think were crazy . . . crazy for
this lifestyle of full time RV living, but even
crazier for spending the Winter in Missouri when
we could be in Arizona or Florida or Texas where
the Winters are warm and sunny.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Oh well were accustomed to raised eyebrows!
We had those same destinations in mind until the
campground owner hired us for the year-round job
and we fell in love with the beautiful setting on
the banks of the Missouri River.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We decided Winter camping in the cold and snow
would be a new experience to add to our
adventurous full time RV living journeys.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Maybe it was the challenge to figure out how to
comfortably survive RV living in Winter that drew
us in, or maybe it was the Universe telling us
that it was time to change our perception of
Winter. (we are big time complainers of snow and
cold.) Actually, it was both!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Little did we realize that our first experience
of RV living in Winter weather would occur during
the BLIZZARD of 2011! Little did we realize how
much our perspective would be tried and tested
when the total snowfall for the Winter set a new
record for our area . . . 43 inches to be exact!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Our preparations for RV living in Winter weather
were valuable lessons in survival. Our only
Winter preparations previous to this was to keep
the snow shovel and ice melt handy by the front
door.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We spent hours Googling tips from other RVers.
It took some digging to find the right
information since most tips for winterizing an RV
focused on preparing the RV for Winter storage
not RV living IN Winter.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We made countless trips to Lowes, Westlakes, and
Bass Pro to ask for assistance with our RV living
in Winter project. (again, the raised eyebrows
from the clerks who tried to help us!)
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
The most valuable resource of all was found at a
local mobile home supplier. It was there the
answers to all our questions were answered by
knowledgeable people who knew how and what and
where and why to protect a our truck camper for
RV living during Winter.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Their solutions were practical and simple . . .
they were incredibly enthusiastic about helping
the crazy couple who have this notion of RV
living in Winter weather!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
For starters, all of the pipes, inside and
outside that I could manage to reach were wrapped
in foam pipe insulation. The empty spaces around
the pipes and holding tanks were filled with
insulation.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
The inside ceiling vents were covered with
plastic to help keep the cold air out. Easy to
do familiar tasks to any homeowner . . . And
especially essential for RV living in areas
where bitter cold and snow and ice assault you
for several months.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
I read several suggestions of covering the
windows as well to keep out the cold, but just
couldnt bring myself to block my view,
especially since I can look out my window and
watch the river - it is my saving grace while
holed up inside while the snow flies and the
temperatures plummet.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
This kind of view is what makes RV living so
worthwhile.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We quickly learned that for RV living in Winter
weather, it was necessary to protect our water
supply and the sewer hose from freezing
temperatures. With the help of the staff at the
mobile home store, we designed a water hose from
a small plastic pipe fitted with connections to
the campground water pump and our camper.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
This pipe was wrapped in an electric heat tape,
which was then wrapped in foam pipe insulation.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Our flexible sewer hose was inserted into a
larger pvc pipe for added insulation. It took a
few tweaks to find the right elbows for the pipe,
but we did it! Now the outside hoses were
protected and we had a protected water supply for
our first RV living experience with Winter
camping!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
These fixes worked great to protect our water
supply and sewer hose but, when we unhooked
everything to take a road trip, we soon realized
how EXACT our parking had to be when we
returned home.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
It took several attempts of backing up pulling
in a little closer backing up pulling to the
right a little more nope angle it more to the
left . . . over and over until the pipes lined
up just right for reconnecting. Normally, no big
deal to do this but it was bitterly cold that
day. Just another part of the process of
learning the art of RV living in Winter weather.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
As we began our second season of RV living in
Missouris Winter, we looked for other solutions
that would help us easily and quickly reconnect
our hoses. We had to find more flexibility.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Google searching came through again as we
researched more ways to survive in Winter
weather. The next Winter, our water hose was
wrapped in heavy duty aluminum foil, followed by
the heat tape, followed by the foam pipe wrap.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We also purchased a super heavy duty sewer hose
that is able to withstand frigid temps. Now we
had flexibility! No more rigid pipes to reconnect
when we arrive back at the campground.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
One of the most treasured discoveries in
preparing for RV living in Winter was the
electric radiator heater. These heaters work
well as a supplemental heat source in small
spaces and stay warm without using much
electricity.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Because natural convection distributes the heat,
theres no fan to make noise, making them
incredibly quiet. We didnt have to run the
furnace constantly, never had to worry about
running out of propane in the middle of the night
and waking up to a cold camper.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
With all those fixes in place, the only big
problem we encountered for surviving RV living in
Winter was condensation that built up under our
mattress where the cold outside air meets warm
bodies. (our bed is over the cab of the pickup)
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
The solution? Create an air space between the
mattress and the floor of the bed. I headed to
Lowes with measurements in hand and asked for
help figuring out my crazy idea. Luckily, I was
helped by someone who knew exactly what we needed
- boards to use as slats and 1/2 inch foam board
to lay on top of the slats and underneath the
foam mattress.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Now the air can circulate . . . and the best part
is the foam board added protection from the cold
floor of the bed.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
I AM a happy camper . . . RV living in the Winter
is a piece of cake!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Two years ago, we were stocking up on food and
movies and water because the forecast called for
a blizzard!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We had expected lots of new adventures with RV
living and Winter camping, but, a blizzard was
something we had never experienced! Nineteen
inches of snow fell as we were snuggled safely in
our camper.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
The next day, we were like little kids. We
couldnt wait to get out and tromp around in the
deep, deep snow that had drifts several feet
deep.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
We loved it so much we made a video about the
blizzard. If youd like to see it do a search on
YouTube for Full Time RVers Survive the
Blizzard of 2011
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
If we had decided to take off that Winter and
settle into RV living in sunny Florida, we would
have missed the magical views of snow covered
fields sparkling like fairy dust in the light of
a full moon, surrounded by stillness.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
If we had headed South for the Winter - sure, we
could have played on the warm, sandy beaches, but
we would have missed sinking up to our thighs in
snow just like we did when we were three years
old and three feet tall!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
I would have missed that magical January morning
when I headed to the river, wrapped in my
sub-zero sleeping bag, camera and coffee in hand
. . . and watched the glorious dance of the gulls
swooping and swirling with grace and majesty.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
Full time RV living is our life and our dream.
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
It gives us freedom. It also gives us
opportunities to make the best of any situation.
Whats that saying when life gives you
lemons, make lemonade? Well, for RV living
during the Winter, when life gives you 19 inches
of snow, you get to be a kid again!
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RV Living Winter Camping in Winter Weather
Life is Too Short To Wait For Someday!
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